1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to xerography and, more particularly, to apparatus for transferring a toner image formed on a photoconductive coating to a print sheet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The general state of the art with which the present invention is concerned is described in French Pat. No. 2,002,025 dated Oct. 3, 1969.
The operating principles of the apparatus with which the present invention is concerned are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,266 which describes an embodiment in which the sheets are held in place by register pins. Although the embodiment described in said patent is suited for laboratory uses, it cannot be used commercially because handling of the sheets is clumsy and time-consuming. Further, in order to obtain a sharp and well-defined final image, smudge-free transfer of toner is a pre-requisite and it is necessary to ensure that no movement takes place during transfer of toner between the transfer sheet and the coating and between the transfer sheet and the print sheet. The embodiment described in said patent does not meet this requirement. Additionally, the apparatus preferably should be compact and simple in construction and suitable for dealing with images of different formats.
The structure of the present invention provides an apparatus which satisfies the above requirements.